宋高僧傳 11.41

11.41

釋齊安，俗姓李，實唐帝系之英。先人播越，故生于海門郡焉，深避世榮，終祕氏族。安在胎，母夢日兆詳。既誕而神光下燭。數歲，有異僧欵門召見，摩頂曰：「鳳穴振儀，龍宮藏寶，紹終之業，其在斯乎！」及臻丱角，亟請出家，父母訶止。安曰：「祿利之養，止於親爾。冥報之利，不其遠邪？珪組之榮，止於家爾。濟拔之益，不其廣邪？」二親感其言而順從，遂依本郡雲琮禪師。雖勤勞謙默，和光同塵，而螢月殊暉，雞鶴異態。年滿登具，乃詣南嶽智嚴律師，外檢律儀，內照實相。後聞南康龔公山大寂禪師隨化度人，慈緣幽感。裹足振錫，一日造焉。大寂欣其相依，論持不倦。及其蛻去，安盡力送終。元和末，安春秋已逾七十，而遊越之蕭山法樂寺，以其古製垣屋靡完，補壞扶傾，不克宴坐。時海昌有法昕者，緇林翹楚，於放生池壖廢地肇葺禪居焉。昕謙而不自有，延請安主之，四海參學者麏至焉。道化之盛，翕然推伏。安不言寒暑，不下堂廡，無流眄，無傾聽，如此者蓋有年矣。而又挺身魁岸，相好莊嚴，眉毫紺垂，顱骨圓聳，望之者如仰嵩、華而揖滄溟，曾無測其高深也。以會昌二年壬戌十二月二十二日泊然宴坐，俄爾示滅。先時竹柏盡死，至是精彩益振。爰有清響叩戶，祥光滿室，如環佩之鏘鳴，若劍戟之交射。瑞相尤繁，事形別錄。又安懸知宣宗皇帝隱曜緇行，將來法會，預誡知事曰：「當有異人至此，禁雜言，止橫事，恐累佛法。」明日，行脚僧數人參禮，安默識帝，遂令維那高位安置，禮殊他等。安每接談話，益知貴氣，乃曰：「貧道謬為海眾圍繞，患齋不供。就上座邊求一供疏。」帝為操翰攄辭，安覽驚悚，知供養僧齎去，所獲豐厚，殆與常度不同。乃語帝曰：「時至矣，無滯泥蟠。」囑以佛法後事而去。帝本憲宗第四子，穆宗異母弟也，武宗恒憚忌之，沈之于宮廁，宦者仇公武潛施拯護，俾髠髮為僧，縱之而逸。周遊天下，險阻備嘗。因緣出授江陵少尹，實惡其在朝耳。武宗崩，左神策軍中尉楊公諷宰臣百官迎而立之，聞安已終，愴悼久之。勅諡大師曰悟空，乃以御詩追悼。後右貂盧簡求為建塔焉。

Shi Qi'an's secular surname was Li; he was indeed an outstanding member of the Tang imperial lineage. Because his forebears had fled their home, he was born in Haimen Commandery. He deeply shunned worldly glory and consistently kept his clan lineage secret. While An was in the womb, his mother had an auspicious dream of the sun. After he was born, a divine radiance shone down. When he was a few years old, an extraordinary monk knocked on the gate, summoned him for an audience, stroked his head, and said, "A phoenix nest manifests its dignity; a dragon palace conceals its treasure! Will not the task of inheriting the end rest with this child?" When he reached youth, he repeatedly asked to go forth from home, but his parents rebuked and stopped him. An said, "The support derived from an official salary reaches only one's parents. Are not the benefits of unseen karmic rewards far more distant? The glory of silken sashes and ceremonial jade ends with one's family. Is not the benefit of salvation and deliverance far broader?" Moved by his words, his parents consented, and he accordingly placed his reliance on Chan Master Yuncong of his native commandery. Although diligent, humble, and silent, blending his light with the dust, he was like the moon outshining fireflies, or a crane standing apart from chickens. Upon reaching the required age, he received the complete precepts (upasampadā) and then went to Vinaya Master Zhiyan of Nanyue, externally examining vinaya decorum while internally illuminating ultimate reality. Later, hearing that Chan Master Daji of Mount Gonggong in Nankang was converting and saving beings according to their capacities, he felt a profound resonance through compassionate affinity. Binding his feet and shaking his staff, he reached him in a single day. Daji was delighted by his arrival and engaged in discussions with him tirelessly. When Daji shed his mortal frame, An exerted every effort to conduct his final rites. At the end of the Yuanhe era, when An was over seventy years of age, he visited Fale Temple in Xiaoshan, Yuezhou; finding its ancient walls and chambers in disrepair, he repaired what was ruined and propped up what was falling, unable to sit in quiet meditation. At that time, a monk named Faxin of Haichang, a standout among the monastic community, began building a Chan hermitage on the abandoned grounds outside the life-release pond. Xin, humble and claiming nothing for himself, invited An to preside over it, whereupon students from across the four seas gathered like herds of deer. The flourishment of his spiritual teaching was universally acknowledged and admired. An spoke neither of cold nor heat, never descended from the halls, cast no wandering glances, and listened to no stray sounds; he remained thus for years. Furthermore, he was tall and imposing in stature, his bodily marks dignified and majestic, his blue-black eyebrows drooping, and the crown of his head round and elevated. Those who looked upon him felt as though they were gazing up at Mount Song and Mount Hua or bowing before the vast ocean, entirely unable to fathom his height or depth. On the twenty-second day of the twelfth month in the second year of the Huichang era (renxu), he sat placidly in meditation and suddenly manifested his passing. Previously, the bampoos and cypresses had all withered, but now their vitality and splendor were renewed. Clear sounds tapped at the doors, and auspicious light filled the room, like the ringing of jade pendants or the intersecting gleam of swords and halberds. The auspicious omens were numerous; the details are recorded in a separate account. Moreover, An had known beforehand that Emperor Xuanzong was concealing his brilliance among the monastic ranks and would arrive at the Dharma assembly. He cautioned the administrative officer in advance: "An extraordinary person will arrive here; forbid idle talk and stop unruly deeds, lest they bring harm to the Buddha's Dharma." The next day, several traveling monks paid their respects; An silently recognized the Emperor and ordered the karmadāna to arrange a high seat for him, treating him with courtesy distinct from the others. Whenever An conversed with him, he became increasingly aware of his noble demeanor, and so he said, "I, an impoverished monk, am undeservedly surrounded by this great assembly and am troubled that offerings are insufficient. May I request an offering petition from the senior seated before me?" The Emperor took up the brush and composed the text. When An read it, he was startled and awed, knowing that when the offering monks took it out, the donations they gathered were abundant and entirely different from the usual measure. He then said to the Emperor, "The time has arrived; do not remain coiled in the mud." He entrusted him with future affairs concerning the Buddha's Dharma and departed. The Emperor was originally the fourth son of Emperor Xianzong and a younger half-brother of Emperor Muzong. Emperor Wuzong had always feared and resented him, casting him into the palace latrine; the eunuch Qiu Gongwu secretly rescued and protected him, shaving his head as a monk and letting him flee into hiding. He wandered throughout the empire, experiencing every danger and hardship. Through special circumstances, he was appointed Vice Prefect of Jiangling, solely because Wuzong disliked having him at court. When Wuzong died, Yang, the Commissioner of the Left Shence Army, persuaded the Prime Minister and the hundred civil and military officials to welcome him and enthrone him. Hearing that An had already passed away, Xuanzong grieved and mourned for a long time. By imperial order, he bestowed upon the Grand Master the posthumous title Wukong and mourned him with an imperial poem. Later, the Grand Master of the Palace Attendants Lu Jianqiu erected a stupa for him.